The invention is in the field of safety devices for stairways or other inclined structures. More specifically, the invention relates to a safety belt and rail which prevents a person from falling down a stairway or other inclined structure.
Each year thousands of senior citizens are injured from falls on stairways in their homes and in other places. Several conventional devices have been developed in order to reduce the number of injuries resulting from ascending or descending a stairway.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,832, issued Nov. 23, 1976 to Ferwerda, discloses a stairway safety suspension support apparatus. This apparatus provides a plurality of loops along the stairway which a person can grasp in the event of a fall. Unfortunately, this apparatus is not passive. That is, some positive action is required by the user in order to prevent the user from falling.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,287, issued Mar. 3, 1981 to Overmoe, discloses a step walker for use in conjunction with a stairway. In this apparatus, a walking bar is temporarily positioned within guide slots as the person walks up or down the stairway. Unfortunately, this apparatus relies on the user to move the walking bar as well as to hold on to the walking bar in order to prevent himself or herself from falling.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,439,775, issued Apr. 22, 1969 to Henrie et al., discloses a safety device for a stairway. In this device, a barrier, such as a net, is used to catch a person during his or her fall. This invention has the disadvantage of catching a person only after he or she has fallen some distance.
The devices discussed above have the disadvantages of either requiring positive action by the user in order to prevent the user from falling or catching a user only after he or she has fallen some distance.
Thus, there is a need for a passive device which will prevent falls while using a stairway.